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Eydie Gormé

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Eydie Gormé
Gormé in 1962
Gormé in 1962
Background information
Birth nameEdith Gormezano[1]
Born(1928-08-16)August 16, 1928[2]
Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 10, 2013(2013-08-10) (aged 84)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
GenresPop, traditional pop, Latin pop, swing, bolero
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Years active1950–2009
LabelsCoral, ABC-Paramount, United Artists, Columbia, RCA Victor, MGM
Spouse
​
(m. 1957)​
Websitesteveandeydie.com

Eydie Gormé (/ˈiːdi/ EE-dee; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who achieved notable success in pop, Latin, and jazz genres. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and television. She also performed on Broadway and in Las Vegas.

Born in the Bronx, New York, Gormé began her career singing in a band on weekends while working as a translator. She gained prominence after appearing on the radio program Cita Con Eydie and changing her name for easier pronunciation. Gormé's career took off in the early 1950s, starting with her two-month stint with the Tommy Tucker band, followed by a year with Tex Beneke's band. She signed with Coral Records in 1952, releasing her first single and later joining The Tonight Show where she met Lawrence. The duo's success included hits like "Too Close for Comfort" and "Blame It on the Bossa Nova", with Gormé also achieving solo success and earning Grammy Awards and nominations.

Her marriage to Lawrence in 1957 marked the beginning of a lifelong personal and professional partnership, celebrated with their Emmy-winning television specials and performances alongside stars like Frank Sinatra. Gormé was renowned for her recordings in Spanish, particularly with Trio Los Panchos, which solidified her international fame. Her versatility was evident in her wide-ranging discography, which includes albums like Amor and Eydie Swings the Blues. Gormé's contributions to music were recognized with awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and a Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early years

[edit]

Gormé was born in the Bronx to Sephardic Jewish parents Nessim Hasdai Gormezano and Fortuna "Fortunee" Gormezano.[3] Her father was from Sicily and changed his name to Gormé when he arrived in the US.[4] Both her parents were born in Turkey of Spanish descent, and Gormé grew up speaking English and Spanish.[3][5]

After graduating from William Howard Taft High School, she attended night classes at City College.[6]

Career

[edit]

After high school, Gormé worked as a Spanish interpreter, but on weekends she sang in a band led by Ken Greengrass.[5]

She appeared on the Spanish-language radio program Cita Con Eydie (A Date with Eydie), changing her name from "Edith" to "Edie" and then "Eydie" because people mispronounced "Edie". She considered changing her last name, but her mother told her, "It's bad enough that you're in show business. How will the neighbors know if you're ever a success?"[7]

Gormé sang with the Tommy Tucker band for two months in 1950, followed by a year with Tex Beneke's band. She signed as a solo act with Coral Records in 1952 and released her first single, "That Night of Heaven". She was hired by The Tonight Show in its early days with Steve Allen and formed a duo with another one of its staff singers, Steve Lawrence.[8][4] As The Tonight Show was beginning to broadcast across the country in 1954, the duo released their first single, "Make Yourself Comfortable/I've Gotta Crow".[8]

Gormé had her first chart hit, "Too Close for Comfort", in 1956 after moving from Coral to ABC-Paramount Records. Two more hits followed. "Mama, Teach Me to Dance" and "Love Me Forever" reached the Top 40 singles chart while her albums Eydie Gorme and Eydie Swings the Blues reached the Top 20 albums chart.[citation needed]

In 1957, Gormé and Lawrence were married, and several months later they hosted Steve Allen Presents the Steve Lawrence-Eydie Gormé Show after Allen retired from The Tonight Show. Three more singles by Gormé and two more albums became chart hits. In 1960 they sang in clubs and released We Got Us, their first album as a duo. They received a Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group for the title track from the album. Gormé recorded "Yes My Darling Daughter" for Columbia Records, and it reached the Top Ten in the UK.[8][9]

In 1963, she reached the Top Ten in the U.S. with "Blame It on the Bossa Nova". The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Vocal Performance[8] and was certified gold after selling one million copies.[10] The album Blame It on the Bossa Nova entered the Top 40 with four more hit singles during the same year. Two were recorded as the duo Steve & Eydie. She recorded the Spanish albums Amor and More Amor with the Trio Los Panchos. Then she turned to show tunes. "If He Walked Into My Life" was an Easy Listening hit in 1966 and earned her a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[8]

Steve and Eydie moved on to Broadway, starring in the musical Golden Rainbow based on the play A Hole in the Head. "How Could I Be So Wrong" by Gormé, which was performed in the musical, was a hit on the Easy Listening chart. The musical had a successful one-year run. Steve and Eydie signed to RCA Victor and released a pair of albums while Gormé had another hit with the title track and album Tonight I'll Say a Prayer in 1970. Their last hit on the pop chart was the song "We Can Make It Together" with the Osmonds in 1973.

Gormé was successful in the Latin music market and internationally through albums she recorded in Spanish with the Trio Los Panchos. Her first recording with Los Panchos came about after the popular group with members from Mexico and Puerto Rico, composed of Alfredo Gil, Chucho Navarro, and Johnny Albino, saw her perform at Manhattan's Club Copacabana late in 1963. Gormé had achieved international fame from the song "Blame it on the Bossa Nova", which sold 250,000 copies in Spanish in addition to sales in English. Los Panchos were the top bolero singers in Latin America, so when they suggested a recording Columbia agreed.[11]

In 1964, Columbia released the album Amor, which spent 22 weeks on the charts. The song "Sabor a Mí" became one of Gormé's signature tunes. In 1965, a sequel appeared called More Amor, later reissued as Cuatro Vidas. Her last album with Los Panchos was Navidad Means Christmas (1966), later reissued as Blanca Navidad. She recorded other Spanish albums in her career, including the Grammy-nominated La Gormé (1976).[8] Muy Amigos/Close Friends (1977), a duet collection with Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera, also received a Grammy nomination.[12]

Steve and Eydie performed a tribute to George Gershwin on their television special Our Love Is Here to Stay, which won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special. Two years later they sang on Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin and again won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special. In 1989 they started the record label GL Music. They sang with Frank Sinatra on his seventieth-birthday tour and on his album Duets II (1994). They recorded a cover version of the song "Black Hole Sun" by the rock band Soundgarden for the album Lounge-A-Palooza (1997).[8]

As the twenty-first century arrived, the couple announced plans to reduce their touring, starting a One More for the Road Tour in 2002. In 2006, Gormé became a blogger. In November 2009, after his wife retired, Lawrence embarked on a solo music tour.[13]

Personal life

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Gormé and Lawrence had two sons. David Nessim Lawrence (b. 1960) is an ASCAP Award-winning composer who composed the score for High School Musical. Michael Robert Lawrence (1962–1986) died at the age of 23 of ventricular fibrillation from an undiagnosed heart condition.[14]

Gormé and Lawrence were in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time of their son's death, having performed at the Fox Theater the night before. Frank Sinatra, a family friend, sent his private plane to fly the couple to New York where David had been attending school. After their son's death, Gormé and Lawrence suspended touring for a year.[14]

Death

[edit]

Gormé died on August 10, 2013, at age 84, at Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center in Las Vegas following an undisclosed illness.[15] She was interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Los Angeles, California.[16]

Lawrence issued a statement: "Eydie has been my partner on stage and in my life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing. While my personal loss is unimaginable, the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time."[7] Lawrence died on March 7, 2024, at the age of 88 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[17]

[edit]

Gormé was portrayed by Victoria Jackson in the popular Saturday Night Live skit "The Sinatra Group" in tandem with Mike Myers portraying her husband Steve Lawrence.[18]

Awards and honors

[edit]
  • Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group, We Got Us with Steve Lawrence, 1960
  • Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance, "If He Walked Into My Life", 1966[19]
  • Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995[20]
  • Inducted with Steve Lawrence into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, winning the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995[21]
  • Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special, Our Love Is Here to Stay with Steve Lawrence, 1976[8]
  • Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Music or Comedy Special, Steve and Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin with Steve Lawrence, 1979

Discography

[edit]

Albums

[edit]

Solo

  • Delight (1956)
  • Eydie Gorme (1957)
  • Eydie Swings the Blues (1957)
  • Eydie Gorme Vamps the Roaring 20's (1958)
  • Eydie in Love (1958)
  • Gorme Sings Showstoppers (1958)
  • Love Is a Season (1958)
  • Eydie Gorme on Stage (1959)
  • Eydie in Dixieland (1959)
  • Come Sing with Me (1961)
  • I Feel So Spanish (1961)
  • Very Best of Eydie Gorme (1961)
  • Best of Eydie Gorme (1962)
  • Blame It on the Bossa Nova (1963)
  • Let the Good Times Roll (1963)
  • Gorme Country Style (1964)
  • Great Songs from 'The Sound of Music' & Broadway (1965)
  • Don't Go to Strangers (1966)
  • Softly, as I Leave You (1967)
  • The Look of Love (1968)
  • Eydie (1968)
  • Yes Indeed! (1969) Harmony
  • With All My Heart (1969) Harmony
  • Otra Vez (1969)
  • Melodies of Love (1970) Harmony
  • Tonight I'll Say a Prayer (1970)
  • If He Walked into My Life (1971) Harmony
  • It Was a Good Time (1971)
  • La Gorme (1976)
  • Muy Amigos/Close Friends with Danny Rivera (1977)
  • Since I Fell for You (1981)
  • Tomame O Dejame (1982)
  • De Corazon a Corazon (1988)
  • Eso Es El Amor (1992)
  • Silver Screen (1992)[22]
  • Blame It on the Bossa Nova (+ 2 bonus tracks) (2002)
  • Tonight I'll Say a Prayer/It Was a Good Time (2005)
  • Don't Go to Strangers/Softly as I Leave You (2012)
  • Since I Fell for You (+ 5 bonus tracks) (2014)
  • An American Treasure (2015)

With Steve Lawrence

  • Steve & Eydie (1958)
  • We Got Us (1960)
  • Sing the Golden Hits (1960)
  • Our Best to You (1961)
  • Cozy (1961)
  • Two on the Aisle (1962)
  • Steve & Eydie at the Movies (1963)
  • That Holiday Feeling (1964)
  • Steve & Eydie Together on Broadway (1967)
  • Bonfa & Brazil with Luis Bonfa (1967)
  • Golden Rainbow (1968)
  • Real True Lovin' (1969)
  • What It Was, Was Love (1969)
  • A Man and a Woman (1970)
  • This Is Steve & Eydie (1971)
  • This Is Steve & Eydie, Vol. 2 (1972)
  • The World of Steve & Eydie (1972)(2009)
  • Feelin' (1972)
  • Songs by Steve & Eydie (1972)
  • Steve & Eydie Together (1975)
  • Our Love Is Here to Stay (1976)
  • Together Forever (1984)
  • Hallelujah (1984)
  • Through the Years (1985)
  • Alone Together (1990)
  • Happy Holidays (1990)[23]
  • Steve & Eydie and Friends Celebrate Gershwin (1990)
  • Steve & Eydie and Friends Celebrate Porter (1990)
  • Steve & Eydie and Friends Celebrate Berlin (1990)
  • Together on Broadway/Two on the Isle (2001)
  • To You from Us (2009)
  • Cozy/A Man & a Woman (2013)
  • Cozy/Two on the Isle (2013)
  • Great American songbook (2013)
  • Original Hits (2024)

With Trio Los Panchos

Singles

[edit]
Year Single (A-side, B-side)
Both sides from same album except where indicated 		Chart positions Album
US CB US
AC 		US
R&B 		US Country UK[9]
1953 "I Danced with My Darling"
b/w "I'd Be Forgotten" (from Eydie Gorme's Delight) 		— — — — — — Non-album track
"Frenesi"
b/w "All Night Long" (Non-album track) 		— 44 — — — — Eydie Gorme's Delight
1954 "Fini"
b/w "Gimme Gimme John" (Non-album track) 		19 39 — — — —
1955 "Sincerely Yours"
b/w "Come Home" 		— — — — — — Non-album tracks
1956 "Too Close for Comfort"
b/w "That's How" (Non-album track) 		39 44 — — — — Eydie Gorme
"Mama, Teach Me to Dance"
b/w "You Bring Out the Lover in Me" 		34 31 — — — — Non-album tracks
"Soda Pop Hop"
b/w "I've Got a Right to Cry" 		— — — — — —
"I'll Come Back"
b/w "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight" 		— — — — — —
"Climb Up the Wall"
b/w "Uska Dara" 		— — — — — —
1957 "Be Careful, It's My Heart"
b/w "Easter Parade" (from Love Is a Season) 		— — — — — — Eydie Gorme
"I'll Take Romance"
b/w "First Impression" 		65 — — — — —
"Your Kisses Kill Me"
b/w "Kiss in Your Eyes" 		53 — — — — — Non-album tracks
"When Your Lover Has Gone"
b/w "Until They Sail" (Non-album track) 		— — — — — — Eydie Swings the Blues
"Love Me Forever"
b/w "Let Me Be Loved" 		24 29 — — — 21 Non-album tracks
1958 "You Need Hands"
b/w "Dormi-Dormi-Dormi" 		11 21 — — — —
"Gotta Have Rain"
b/w "To You, From Me" (from Our Best to You) 		63 43 — — — —
"The Voice in My Heart"
b/w "Separate Tables" 		88 68 — — — —
"Who's Sorry Now?"
b/w "Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye" 		— — — — — — Eydie Gorme Vamps The Roaring 20's
1959 "I'm Yours"
b/w "Don't Take Your Love from Me" (Non-album track) 		— — — — — — Our Best to You
"Taking a Chance on Love"
b/w "The Years Between" 		— — — — — — Non-album tracks
1960 "The Dance Is Over"
b/w "Too Young to Know" 		— — — — — —
"Be Sure My Love"
b/w "I Will Follow You" 		— — — — — — Our Best To You
"I Love to Dance (But Never on Sunday)"
b/w "Let Me Be the First to Wish You Merry Christmas" 		— — — — — — Non-album tracks
1961 "Yours Tonight"
b/w "What Happened to Our Love" 		— — — — — —
1962 "Yes, My Darling Daughter"
b/w "Sonny Boy" 		— — — — — 10
"Before Your Time"
b/w "Where Is Love" 		— — — — — —
"Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)"
b/w "I'm Yours" 		— — — — — —
1963 "Blame It on the Bossa Nova"
b/w "Guess I Should Have Loved Him More" (from Softly, As I Leave You) 		7 6 — 16 — 32 Blame It on the Bossa Nova
"Don't Try to Fight It, Baby"
b/w "Theme from 'Light Fantastic' (My Secret World)" 		53 57 18 — — — Non-album tracks
"Everybody Go Home"
b/w "The Message" 		80 70 — — — —
1964 "The Friendliest Thing"
b/w "Something to Live For" (from With All My Heart) 		133 — — — — —
"I Want You to Meet My Baby" / 43 65 — — — —
"Can't Get Over (The Bossa Nova)" 87 122 20 — — —
"The Moon and the Stars and a Little Bit of Wine"
b/w "Piel Canela" (from Amor, with Trio Los Panchos) 		— — — — — —
1965 "Do I Hear a Waltz?"
b/w "After You've Gone" (from With All My Heart) 		122 116 — — — —
"Just Dance on By"
b/w "Where Are You Now" 		124 140 39 — — —
"Don't Go to Strangers"
b/w "Mas Amor (More Love)" (from Mas Amor, with Trio Los Panchos) 		— — 36 — — — Don't Go to Strangers
1966 "What Did I Have That I Don't Have?"
b/w "Tell Him I Said Hello" 		— 138 17 — — —
"If He Walked Into My Life"
b/w "Tell Him I Said Hello" 		120 — 5 — — —
"What Is a Woman?"
b/w "Guess I Should Have Loved Him More" 		— — 34 — — — Softly, As I Leave You
"Navidad Y Ano Nuevo"
b/w "Alegre Navidad"
Both tracks with Trio Los Panchos 		— — — — — — Navidad Means Christmas
1967 "Softly, as I Leave You"
b/w "What's Good About Goodbye?" 		117 — 30 — — — Softly, as I Leave You
"How Could I Be So Wrong"
b/w "He Needs Me Now" 		— — 22 — — — Golden Rainbow (Soundtrack)
1968 "Life Is But a Moment (Canta Ragazzina)"
b/w "What Makes Me Love Him?" 		115 — 35 — — — The Look of Love
"This Girl's in Love with You"
b/w "It's You Again" 		— — 22 — — — Eydie
1969 "Runaway"
b/w "Girl with a Suitcase" 		— — — — — — Non-album tracks
"Tonight I'll Say a Prayer"
b/w "Wild One" (Non-album track) 		45 54 8 — — — Tonight I'll Say a Prayer
1970 "My World Keeps Getting Smaller Every Day"
b/w "The Ladies Who Lunch" 		— — 24 — — — Non-album tracks
1971 "It Was a Good Time"
b/w "Mem'ries and Souvenirs" (Non-album track) 		— — 23 — — — It Was a Good Time
1972 "Butterfly"
b/w "Mr. Number One" 		— — — — — — Non-album tracks
1973 "Take One Step"
b/w "The Garden" 		— — 47 — 94 —
"Touch the Wind (Eres tú)"
b/w "It Takes Too Long to Learn and Live Alone" 		— — 41 — — —
1976 "What I Did for Love"
b/w "Can It Ever Be the Same" 		— — 23 — — —

Music samples

[edit]
Sample of "Too Close For Comfort" by Eydie Gormé
Performed in 1957
Butterfly
performed by Gormé in 1972
Problems playing these files? See media help.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Eydie Gorme profile". TV.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  2. ^ Gates, Anita (August 11, 2013). "Eydie Gorme, Voice of Sophisticated Pop, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Sweeting, Adam (August 11, 2013). "Eydie Gorme obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Saeed Ahmed (August 11, 2013). "Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84". CNN. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Nefsky Frankfeldt, Gwen (March 1, 2009). "Eydie Gorme". jwa.org. Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Gates, Anita (August 11, 2013). "Eydie Gorme, Voice of Sophisticated Pop, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Thomas, Bob (August 11, 2013). "Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84". Salon. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Ruhlmann, William. "Eydie Gorme". AllMusic. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 232. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  10. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 159–60. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  11. ^ "50 Year Anniversary of a Marvelous Recording". El Blog de GHBN. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "Eydie Gormé: Una voz que brilló con el Trío Los Panchos". El Clarin Obituary. No. August 12, 2013. August 17, 2015.
  13. ^ "Steve Lawrence, minus Eydie Gorme, set for Westbury". Newsday.com. November 3, 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  14. ^ a b Ahmed, Saeed (August 11, 2013). "Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84". CNN. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  15. ^ "Singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84". CBS News. August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
  16. ^ Clarkelas, Norm (August 14, 2013). "Eydie Gorme to rest among other greats". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  17. ^ "Steve Lawrence, Tony Nominee and Half of Steve & Eydie Singing Duo, Dies at 88 - TheaterMania.com". March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "My Favorite 'Saturday Night Live' Sketch". Rolling Stone. March 16, 2017.
  19. ^ "Singer Eydie Gorme Dies". GRAMMY.com. December 2, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  20. ^ "Ella Award Special Events". February 12, 2011. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  21. ^ 1995 Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 1, 2014
  22. ^ "Eydie Gormé Discography". Steveandeydie.com. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  23. ^ "Steve & Eydie Discography". Steveandeydie.com. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
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